Friday, July 31, 2009

Planet Hulk was my favorite Hulk story arc in years, and it looks like this movie is going to be a good adaptation. I mean, come on... Clancy Brown as the voice of the Hulk? YEAH-YUH! It looks like they have based the look of the characters more on Jose Ladronn's artwork for the covers than the interior work by Carlo Pagulayan. I'm NOT complaining, as I'm a huge Ladronn fan!

I've been pleased with most of the Marvel animated movies(especially the fantastic Hulk Vs. DVD), so here's hoping this one is just as good, if not better!!!

This is Omnom. He likes to eat. Just thought I'd share a few work-in-progress shots for you guys to see. Omnom has been a little bit of sculpting and a LOT of sanding. Trying to get him smoooov as a baby's tushie! This has been a really fun guy to make-- he's really the first figure of his kind I ever made ( I usually customize figures or make zombies ). Now I know why toy artists make these things... it's so rewarding seeing your brain burps come to life!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

It seems like every year the talent pool that America's Got Talent draws from gets thinner and thinner. I've come up with a simple set of rules that will make sure you win a million bucks on that show:

1) Sing. I'm serious... every act so far that has won has been a singing act. The producers must have noticed that NBC didn't have an amateur singing show and decided to shoehorn one into a talent show. It's pretty sad that they had to ruin a perfectly good talent show by forcing it to be a wanna be American Idol.

2) Have a sob story. With the exception of one winner, everyone who has won on that show has had some kind of horrible death in the family, has lost his job, or had a pet explode in the microwave. Think up the worst possible plot for a Lifetime movie, sing, and go on stage... you WILL win.

3) Sing R&B. Again... the judges on this show are nothing if not predictable. Every singer who has made it to the end (again... with the exception of one) has warbled out horrible versions of Afrocentric music. There's nothing cooler than a black guy with a rich voice singing songs about living and loving and dealing with the hardships dealt out by the Man. On the other hand, there's nothing as annoying as seeing a 12 year old white girl sing about how her man done did her wrong. But most annoying of all is the fact that this impresses the washed-up cretins that judge this show.

4) Cry. A LOT. The amount of tears you shed is directly proportionate to the amount of respect the judges of the show have for you as a contestant.

Follow all of these simple rules and you too can become a million dollar winner on America's Got Talent.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

I wanted to show off some of the recent work that my good friend Billy Parker has been doing. This is his latest statue based on an original idea he had for a savage tribe of Ewoks who have become quite skilled at survival on the floor of the forests of Endor. Much different than the little fuzzballs we all came to know in Return of the Jedi, this tribe learned to dwell in caves and to hunt the savage beasts that prey on surface dwellers. The beast trying to attack the Ewok here is a Kao-Kao, a monstrous predator whose name literally means "kill-kill," as they devour anything they see moving on the ground.

Swooping down from a branch over 20 meters above, the Kao-Kao plummets toward the lone, furry traveler making his way through the forest. Our brave little Ewok spins and thrusts his trusty spear at the very last moment. This is how he has learned to hunt -- by becoming the prey, he lures his quarry close enough for the kill. He and his Wok-wife and Woklings will eat well tonight -- as they do every night.

The statue stands over 12 inches wide and almost 11 inches tall. It is a staggering piece to behold in person, and no picture will ever do it justice. Just in case anyone wanted to know, the piece already has an owner, but Billy is always willing to take commissions. You can email him at babytastefunny@yahoo.com. Look for more of his stuff in the future... I love showing off Billy's amazing work!!!